Question about Paypal

[YadaYadaYada]

I have a ring for sale currently and a buyer has asked about paying with PayPal and having it shipped from CT to CA. The selling price is $4,000 so it's not pocket change. My concern here is making sure there isn't a way of us being scammed. I know PayPal is safe but just to be absolutely certain thought I would ask.

 

[Rhea]

Nothing is 100% safe. If you're concerned you can call paypal is find out what you need to do to be sure that you're protected. They only protect you if you follow their seller agreement, which may depend on where you live and where you're shipping.

 

[Rockdiamond]

StephanieLynn- I know as a seller, we are protected by Paypal as long as we ship to the verified address PayPal on the PayPal receipt- and use a method that requires a signature upon delivery.

I would imagine they'd offer you the same protection.
They're not all that hard to get on the phone, if you want to call them.....

Hope this helps!!

 

[tkyasx78]

yes you can be scammed. easily.

if they can get a "jeweler" to say it is not as described they can file a snad ( even if you dont take returns)

paypal will require them to return the ring with tracking

all they need to do is replace the stone with a CZ and mail it back to you ( well they could mail a book back and still get refunded actually )

once tracking shows the package is delivered they require you to refund even if they switch the stone out or mailed you a different item.

be sure the person you sell to is ethical and has lots of feedback. sadly many new users on ebay are usually old users with new email address

if you sell to a member that has been on ebay for at least 10 years and has only positive feedback you are probably ok. but I would be VERY wary of anyone who is new and doesnt have a lot of feedback

 

[YadaYadaYada]

Thanks everyone! I have used PayPal in the past but never for a higher priced item but this is a great help.

 

[OoohShiny]

I would do Bank Transfer only!

Alternatively, I think some appraisers offer third party escrow services, where you send the ring to them and the seller sends the money to them, then when they are in hand, the appraiser forwards them on.

I'm not sure if that's something @denverappraiser or @oldminer offer??

 

[Bron357]

The easiest way with PayPal is for the buyer to send it to you as “friends/ family” that way they can’t make a claim against you. There is no “getting your money back” using this payment type. Mind you, from their perspective if you send them an empty box, they are stuffed. If using PayPal, other than friend/ family transfers, PayPal charges 3% so you need to factor that into your price. Paypal is safe, it’s the buyer that may not be.

 

[denverappraiser]

Reread Tkyasx78’s answer above. Paypal does pretty well at protecting buyers, but sellers are at risk. They, and all credit cards, are heavily biased towards buyers in disputes, and they are effectively the court of jurisdiction.

Yes, there are escrow services available, and yes there are appraisers who get involved in that, including me. It costs money, but it adds a layer of protection against the claim of significantly not as described (SNAD) because now there’s an expert 3rd party witness that was agreed to in advance by both. I don’t know if your favorite appraiser does this or not but many do. Fundamentally how it works is that both the merchandise and the money go to the escrow service. They inspect and issue a report to both parties. If all is well they send the goods to the buyer and money to the seller. If not, the money and the goods return to whoever gave it.

 

[YadaYadaYada]

Hmm, well I responded to this seller last night and he gave me a song and dance about "My problem is i work at a remote site and the reception is terrible.We do not have access to phone at the moment,which is why I contacted you with internet messaging facility and i have only access to paypal"

Except the first message he sent asked me to send him my phone number yet he says this. Sorry Brother, I wasn't born yesterday. I didn't respond to him, I don't NEED to sell this ring.

Thank you for all the help everyone!

 

[Rockdiamond]

From our perspective- if there's ANY doubt in our minds, we pull out of the deal- and the story he told you StephanieLynn is exactly the type of thing that would cause me a lot of concern. A big part of security is rising above the faceless computer transaction and actually speaking to the other party. Faceless/Nameless may be fine for a $20 Amazon purchase- at $4k, not so much......
I've also found PayPal, and AMEX both to be rather even handed. If you have proof, they will back you up- be it merchant, or vendor. Of course YMMV